Search found 137 matches
- Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: New to NYC, ideas where to live just outside the city
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1110
Re: New to NYC, ideas where to live just outside the city
6th Avenue? You're in a good position to take the PATH which goes up to 6th Avenue and 33rd Street. Like all public transportation, it has its ups and downs but generally people consider PATH to be in better shape than the subway. Here's a 2 bedroom 1 bath 800 square feet near me for $510,000: https...
- Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: New to NYC, ideas where to live just outside the city
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1110
Re: New to NYC, ideas where to live just outside the city
We live in Hamilton Park now (Jersey City nearish to the water). Feels very family friendly and urban. What are you looking to get for $500K (sqft, bedrooms, etc.)? And do you work on the west or east side of midtown Manhattan? The commute from where I live in Jersey City to midtown west is lovely. ...
- Thu May 31, 2018 3:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: work one more year or attend law school
- Replies: 67
- Views: 6333
Re: work one more year or attend law school
Unless the top 5 school is Yale, you would be a fool to turn down a full ride to a top 10 school. There is almost no difference between Columbia and Duke or Virginia in terms of job prospects, and that small difference is not worth $250k. I regret turning down a slightly lower ranked school for a t...
- Thu Apr 12, 2018 3:07 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Uber vs Lyft
- Replies: 15
- Views: 3017
Re: Uber vs Lyft
I need to take some form of transport from Manhattan to JFK airport at 4:30 AM Sunday. I never used either of these services. Lyft offers coupons for $50 off first ride....Uber offers only $20 off. Which is better and why? Thanks I'd use Juno. They recruited all the Uber drives with 4.8+ ratings on...
- Thu Apr 12, 2018 2:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: DINK High Income Earners - how to lessen the tax impact?
- Replies: 25
- Views: 3522
Re: DINK High Income Earners - how to lessen the tax impact?
You could make less money, but I'm guessing you don't want to do that. You could also move to a no-income tax state - but then you've got that covered too! How about two Backdoor Roth IRA contributions for $11K? I didn't see that in your list. Won't save you taxes today but will save you taxes in th...
- Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How often do you replace your office shoes?
- Replies: 58
- Views: 6935
Re: How often do you replace your office shoes?
Just curious here. How often do you wear out your daily office/work shoes? Mine are three years old today, and I keep thinking about replacing them. This past winter has seemed to accelerate the wear. I alternate pairs so I tend to wear brown on Monday, black on Tuesday and so on. The brown ones ar...
- Wed Apr 04, 2018 11:42 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: SoFi refinancing
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1038
Re: SoFi refinancing
I haven't read through your other thread but did you rate shop? SoFi is not the only game in town. I'd try a few of the other companies. Keep in mind that there's nothing stopping you from refinancing again in the future, so you could refinance today and then refinance again a year later (if the rat...
- Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Non-Owner Car Insurance
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1804
Re: Non-Owner Car Insurance
Question: If you were to drive a borrowed (and insured) car from a friend or acquaintence - and were involved in a potential liability accident, which insurance would cover this first - your (non-owner) or the owner's? That's a great question. I'm not sure but I think the answer is that the non-own...
- Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:44 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Non-Owner Car Insurance
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1804
Re: Non-Owner Car Insurance
I live in a city and don't own a car. About 30 days a year I rent a car. I rely on my Chase Reserve for collision insurance and purchase liability insurance from the car rental company for $13 / day. Instead of paying for the liability insurance each time, would it make more sense to take out a non...
- Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Selling business (website) considerations
- Replies: 27
- Views: 3135
Re: Selling business (website) considerations
I don't think you get capital gains rates. Depends how the business was set up. Tell me how to set it up so you get capital gains rates. I'm definitely no tax expert (we have a whole department for that), but if you and your wife each own 50 shares of WhiteCoatInvestor Empire, Inc., a Delaware corp...
- Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: PC Guy. Inherited a Mid-2012 MacBook Pro ($500 value). Talk me into/out of keeping it.
- Replies: 37
- Views: 3517
Re: PC Guy. Inherited a Mid-2012 MacBook Pro ($500 value). Talk me into/out of keeping it.
Wow. You can get $500 for a computer that is six years old? I just traded my mid-2012 Macbook Air in for $211. It doesn't sound like you need the computer. I'd convert that into VTSAX pronto.
- Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:52 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Planning for Backdoor Roth
- Replies: 6
- Views: 549
Re: Planning for Backdoor Roth
And it sounds like the consensus is that the additional expense drag caused by the rollover of my spouse’s IRA is worth getting the opportunity to also do a backdoor for her. Yes, I think it's worth it too. One other idea to consider. Does your spouse have any self-employment income? Even as little...
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 5:25 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: NY 529 and K-12
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2500
Re: NY 529 and K-12
If you are a resident of NJ but work in NY, do not deduct your NY 529 contribution on NY state tax. Reason is this- any amount you deduct from NY tax will increase NJ tax by the same amount, so no benefit. Additionally, if you move your NY 529 plan to any other state, NY will recapture those deduct...
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:50 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Couple Medical Students - Refinance vs IDR plan
- Replies: 1
- Views: 259
Re: Couple Medical Students - Refinance vs IDR plan
If we were to refinance her loans. The plan would be to try to get a rate lower than the effective repaye rate of 3.77%, and pay that over a 5-10 year term. Some questions I have with this is how probable is it to get a rate of < 3.77 (Effective REPAYE rate), in the setting of a good credit score a...
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:36 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: What next? A personal finance story starting in 2012, updated in 2016, and again in 2018
- Replies: 51
- Views: 6319
Re: What next? A personal finance story starting in 2012, updated in 2016, and again in 2018
I am now 37, married, and I have two young girls (5 and 3). My wife and I are both still lawyers. However, I practice FT and she practices PT (3 days a week). She is considering stopping work to be there more for oru children as my oldest will start Kindergarten next year. I make approximately $450...
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 11:10 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: NY 529 and K-12
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2500
Re: NY 529 and K-12
https://www.nysaves.org/home/fe.html Here it is. Here's the preliminary report itself. https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/stats/stat_pit/pit/preliminary-report-tcja-2017.pdf The relevant portion is pasted below. N. 529 Plans Previous Federal Law: Federal 529 plans incentivize saving for college and other p...
- Wed Feb 28, 2018 10:57 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: NY 529 and K-12
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2500
Re: NY 529 and K-12
If I read your post correct, there should not be any taxes on earnings used for K-12 distributions. Is this right? I agree with Spirit Rider's read. The recapture would only apply to the NYS tax benefits you received upon contribution, which for you is none (and so nothing to recapture). The other ...
- Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: NY 529 and K-12
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2500
Re: NY 529 and K-12
Can you link or post the information about the 529 plan not allowing withdrawals for K-12 education?
- Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Best way to find short term/vacation renters for NYC apartment
- Replies: 9
- Views: 836
Re: Best way to find short term/vacation renters for NYC apartment
I can't think of anyone who wants apartments in the building they live in used as hotel rooms with the unvetted strangers coming and going at all times of the day and night without any respect for the rightful residents, inappropriate behavior, noise, bed bugs, etc. I'd love it if we could have Air...
- Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:47 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Student loan information source
- Replies: 18
- Views: 1706
Re: Student loan information source
I'd look at refinancing with PenFed. I paid off most of my law school loans and refinanced the small remaining balance to get a better rate and PenFed offered much better rates than SoFi and the other often touted lenders . . . I think many of them reserve the best rates for physicians as opposed t...
- Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:19 am
- Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
- Topic: jlcollinsnh - Stock Series
- Replies: 26
- Views: 5998
Re: jlcollinsnh - Stock Series
JL Collins is the real deal. My experience is that his writing meshes very well with Boglehead philosophy.
- Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:00 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Travel to Rome Italy - Recommendations
- Replies: 23
- Views: 2691
Re: Travel to Rome Italy - Recommendations
Definitely check out the Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano (as a previous poster mentioned). I lived in Rome for 5 months and it was one of my favorite places to visit repeatedly. It's essentially a church on top of a church on top of a home and each flight of stairs down reveals a new structure ...
- Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:56 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Student loans or IRA withdrawal
- Replies: 2
- Views: 329
Re: Student loans or IRA withdrawal
So what would you do? Go into student loan debt, or start at 0 with your retirement portfolio? On principle I'd really like to stay away from any loans. What would I do? I would leave the money in my IRA and harness the feelings of being uncomfortable with student loan debt to make sure I borrowed ...
- Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:05 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Variable rate student loans, why not highest % all the time?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 612
Re: Variable rate student loans, why not highest % all the time?
I don't have much to add that TropikThunder didn't already say but in addition to the Sallie Mae promissory note, this is usually spelled out in any student loan promissory note you'd sign. The rate will be tied to an index and will likely have rails that allow for how fast the rate can go up and th...
- Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:10 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Taxes [Do it yourself or use tax software?]
- Replies: 39
- Views: 3879
Re: Taxes
Do you do your own taxes or use tax software? If you do your own taxes then what company do you use? If you use tax software then what do you use? I do my taxes by hand and use tax software (TurboTax). It makes me sharper and I learn a little each year. So far haven't had the need to use a CPA. Mos...
- Tue Jan 02, 2018 7:54 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Beginning Investor, knowledgeable enough to switch from EJ to Vanguard?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 743
Re: Beginning Investor, knowledgeable enough to switch from EJ to Vanguard?
-Should I wait to switch until I have a better understanding of different mutual funds, ETFs, etc. By asking the question, sounds like you have a good enough understanding to know that EJ isn't serving you, so I'd say you already have a good enough understanding to switch. It's not going to be scar...
- Sun Dec 31, 2017 6:39 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Vanguard - repeated back door roth logistic question
- Replies: 5
- Views: 935
Re: Vanguard - repeated back door roth logistic question
I did my first backdoor roth last week with my vanguard account. It went smoothly, but I see that the original IRA account is still around. For folks that do these yearly, do you open a new IRA account each year or just contribute the limit to the old account and do the conversion again? No, I cont...
- Sun Dec 31, 2017 6:32 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Two-comma club just in time for the New Year, and thank you
- Replies: 47
- Views: 5778
- Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:43 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Student loan forgiveness
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2835
Re: Student loan forgiveness
The loans are income based and the filing of income and taxes as single or married is a big piece that we haven’t quite tackled. We are considering working with an accountant to figure out our best course of action. That piece, along with the uncertainty around the likelihood of the policy remainin...
- Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:37 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Do you see a meaningful change in your income with new Tax Bill?
- Replies: 266
- Views: 27562
Re: Do you see a meaningful change in your income with new Tax Bill?
Meaningful? No. The calculators show a savings of about $500 next year and a corresponding increase of about ~$500 in 2027. Live in NYC but was subject to AMT. The real change will be in how I restructure income going forward. Tax laws are public policy planning tools, so we will adjust accordingly ...
- Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:23 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Will you donate less to Charity?
- Replies: 109
- Views: 10141
Re: Will you donate less to Charity?
Yes, we will donate less to charity. I live in NYC with no car and often have to pay people to haul charitable donations to charities. I can justify this since the tax break is well worth it. Now, I suspect we'll end up throwing more old things away or simply putting them outside for someone to pick...
- Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:17 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Securing Law School Scholarships
- Replies: 37
- Views: 4330
Re: Securing Law School Scholarships
Here's a trick most people don't realize - you can negotiate scholarships! If UVA offers you money for example, go calling any peer schools you get into and see if they can match it. I'd pay attention to this OP. Nearly A Moose is dead on. Most people don't realize that you can negotiate scholarshi...
- Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:04 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Student loan forgiveness
- Replies: 12
- Views: 2835
Re: Student loan forgiveness
I haven’t been able to do a detailed analysis, accounting for tax impacts, etc. That's going to be your first step. What repayment plan is she in (IBR or REPAYE or ... )? Now that you're married your payments are going to be based on your combined income unless you file your taxes MFS, which usuall...
- Sat Dec 16, 2017 7:44 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Prepayment of SALT Taxes? [State and Local]
- Replies: 270
- Views: 30401
Re: Prepayment of SALT Taxes? [State and Local]
I agree with your reading.chicagoan23 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:48 am By my reading the NY Times has it wrong with respect to property tax payments
- Sat Dec 16, 2017 7:35 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Prepayment of SALT Taxes? [State and Local]
- Replies: 270
- Views: 30401
Re: be careful, no longer allowed to prepay local and state taxes for a deduction
I just read this too and was coming to the forum to post the same thing. "Taxpayers may deduct only up to $10,000 total, which may include any combination of state and local taxes, including property taxes (also sales taxes). But don’t try to prepay your income taxes before year-end to circumve...
- Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:44 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Two commas, I'm calling it
- Replies: 20
- Views: 5441
Re: Two commas, I'm calling it
Awesome. Congratulations!
- Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:12 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card
- Replies: 278
- Views: 62485
Re: USAA 2.5% Cash Back Credit Card
I tried to figure this out as well and eventually gave up. I opened up this card in June and best I can tell I actually have slightly more cashback than I expect based on my records of spending, so I'm just going to be happy with that and keep going. Until I read this thread I didn't realize the pro...
- Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:49 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Prepayment of SALT Taxes? [State and Local]
- Replies: 270
- Views: 30401
Re: Prepayment of SALT Taxes? [State and Local]
I've been playing with Turbotax. The very short answer that seems to be the case for me, is that if you are subject to AMT solely because of SALT deductions, I'm not sure that prepaying 2018 taxes (assuming it can be done) helps much. FWIW, I am I have an AGI of ~$400,000 and deductible SALT taxes ...
- Sun Dec 10, 2017 6:42 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How can someone who earns 500k/yr in w2 be in 25% tax bracket?
- Replies: 17
- Views: 3395
Re: How can someone who earns 500k/yr in w2 be in 25% tax bracket?
Can you clarify how effective tax rate works in the sample? If you haven't spent a lot of time at the White Coat Investor's site, he posts a tax report each year. His income is in the $1+ million and his effective federal tax rate was 21.7% last year (I actually think the second link would be more ...
- Sat Nov 25, 2017 8:55 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Should I keep the new iPad I bought or return it?
- Replies: 51
- Views: 5115
Re: Should I keep the new iPad I bought or return it?
So to all the tablet owners out there do you use yours or is it sitting in a drawer someplace? What's more important is whether you'll use it! I have an iPad Pro 12 inch and an iPad Air 2. I love and use BOTH all the time but they're not for everyone. I'd try it out for awhile and return it if you ...
- Sat Nov 25, 2017 8:52 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Apple people: Office 365 or Apple's stuff?
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1624
Re: Apple people: Office 365 or Apple's stuff?
I'm all Apple as well but still use Microsoft Office products (Word and Excel), mainly for work. The great thing about the Apple platform is the talented developers that write great programs. If you're looking for a writing app, there are some great ones (Scrivener for writing books, Ulysses for sho...
- Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:18 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Alway contribute to HSA if incurring medical expenses?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1366
Re: Alway contribute to HSA if incurring medical expenses?
If I have a $3000 qualified medical expense that I have paid out of pocket, can I just contribute $3000 to my HSA and then request a distribution right after to avoid paying the income tax on that money at the end of the year? My understanding is that as long as the HSA account was opened before th...
- Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:09 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: New 2 comma member
- Replies: 28
- Views: 3728
Re: New 2 comma member
Congratulations! Your secret is safe with us. 

- Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: just hit the two comma club today...some thoughts
- Replies: 37
- Views: 6867
Re: just hit the two comma club today...some thoughts
Congratulations! Thanks for posting and sharing the news.
- Thu Oct 19, 2017 6:09 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Question about Personal Capital
- Replies: 18
- Views: 3137
Re: Question about Personal Capital
They've called me 3-4 times. I've never answered and never spoken to anyone there. I don't find the calls/voicemails annoying.
- Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:21 am
- Forum: US Chapters
- Topic: Brooklyn, NY Meetup
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2668
Re: Brooklyn, NY Meetup
I'd be up for a meeting. I live in Cobble Hill.
- Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:39 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: My student loan refi experience (SoFi, Earnest, CommonBond)
- Replies: 20
- Views: 12902
Re: My student loan refi experience (SoFi, Earnest, CommonBond)
The main problem now is that they were sold to Navient, the Bear Stearns of student loan companies. Thanks for the update. Back when I refinanced and paid off my loans I went with Earnest. I had a great experience and enthusiastically recommended the company to friends. I'm surprised that they ende...
- Thu Jun 29, 2017 2:51 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Net worth - thanks to this site
- Replies: 15
- Views: 4356
Re: Net worth - thanks to this site
Nice work! Thanks for sharing.
- Sun Mar 12, 2017 4:33 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: IBR Student Loans or Retirement Investing
- Replies: 14
- Views: 2020
Re: IBR Student Loans or Retirement Investing
The math seems to favor taking the forgiveness The interest doesn't actually compound. It only compounds if it capitalizes, which should only occurr if OP loses financial hardship status or other events happen. So it would just be 64000+64000*.067*17, which is about 137K. At a 15% federal (not unli...
- Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:32 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Payoff Student Loans Early? Requesting help.
- Replies: 14
- Views: 1469
Re: Payoff Student Loans Early? Requesting help.
Another vote for option 4. I'd use the money in my efund and press the delete button on those student loans!